A look ahead.
The first test has arrived for the 2024 Tennessee football team. The Volunteers will hit the road to Charlotte for a neutral site meeting with No. 24 NC State on Saturday night at Bank of America Stadium.
Tennessee has moved out to an eight-point favorite following their thrashing of Chattanooga last weekend. Quarterback Nico Iamaleava was brilliant in his half of work, setting a single-half record for passing yards with 314.
On the flipside, NC State struggled in their opener against Western Carolina. The Wolfpack entered halftime all tied up before pulling away in the fourth quarter. Regardless of cupcake results, both teams will begin their real seasons on Saturday night.
“Really good football team,” Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said on the SEC teleconference. “You can look at their offense. They have dynamic playmakers. Quarterback’s got a ton of experience. He’s a winner, played at the position for a long time at a really high level. Does a great job of making plays with his feet and extending plays outside the pocket. Accurate thrower down the football field. Does a great job of taking care of it too.”
Former Coastal Carolina quarterback Grayson McCall has taken over at quarterback, and NC State head coach Dave Doeren is hoping he can get them into the thick of the College Football Playoff race. Doeren hangs hit hat on the defensive side of the ball, however, where the Wolfpack have been solid for the better part of the last decade.
“Defensively, they’re a veteran group,” Heupel continued. “They have a lot of guys that have been with them for a while now and sprinkled in some transfers. They’re big, they’re physical, they play extremely hard, they tackle well out in space. Going to be a great test for us, and really gotta play all three phases of the football game together here and continue our preparation as we finish up the week.”
Tennessee’s hyper-paced offense will test that NC State defense, which ranked 26th in points allowed last season. The Wolfpack will counter offensively with a few weapons of their own, beginning with stud receiver Kevin Concepcion.
“Yeah, their kick returner (Hollywood Smothers) and a guy that they move around on offense, number 10 (Kevin Concepcion), is dynamic and really special. They got some good young wideouts on the perimeter, too, that pose a problem in one-on-one situations. They got great speed, but you know, for us also, they got some length out there, out on the outside and so you gotta do a great job on fades and back shoulder plays as well.”
NC State also added tight end Justin Joly from UConn, who really had a good showing last season in Neyland Stadium against Tennessee. Ohio State transfer Noah Rogers also joins the receiver picture, giving McCall a nice core to work with.
Concepcion started the year with a bang, catching nine passes for 121 yards and three touchdowns. Joly added five catches for 75 yards, while Rogers caught three balls for for 43 yards.
That passing attack should test Tennessee’s new look secondary, which frankly didn’t see much of a challenge last week. Cornerbacks Jermod McCoy, Rickey Gibson, Jalen McMurray will get the majority of the work it appears, while Tennessee works in a new starter at STAR — either Christian Harrison or true freshman Boo Carter (or both). Andre Turrentine and Will Brooks round out the look at safety, and it’s going to be interesting to see how they perform against what appears to be a potent attack.
“Obviously for us this week, the quality of the opponent that we’re playing, it’s gonna be different than what we faced personnel wise from a week ago,” Heupel said. “So I’m excited to go play with these guys. We’re gonna find out a lot about our football team this Saturday, too, and looking forward to the challenge in Charlotte.”
Kickoff is set for Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC.